Friday, 13 May 2016

The Nestie is a 6-hole short course operated by the Carnoustie Golf Links Trust and opened in May 2014 as part of a wider redevelopment of the Buddon Course at Carnoustie. The Buddon now has 2 new holes and the Nestie was built on what was formerly the Buddon's 1st fairway, immediately to the left of the 1st hole on Carnoustie's Championship Course. The Nestie is described by the Trust as a junior course, but it's also open to adult members and non-members alike and is only reserved for juniors at specific times. As such, it's a good practice facility for anyone playing one of Carnoustie's three main courses and being free, with clubs available for hire from the adjacent Pro Shop, it's ideally located for casual play by any visitors to the town and for complete beginners to learn the basics. See the Buddon Course 1st tee and Championship Course 1st tee webcams on www.carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk for aerial live streaming showing the Nestie Course. This is a photo I took from the 1st tee. Note the greenkeepers hard at work in the background.

I'd arranged to meet Craig at Noon on 11 May 2016, who as regular readers of the blog will know, is one of the 2 guys that I'm playing all of the Scottish courses with. Craig lives within a Par 5 of the 1st tee on the Championship Course and is a member of one of the 5 clubs that have playing rights over the Carnoustie Links. The 3rd and 4th Holes were closed for maintenance when we met up, so it initially looked as though my 210 mile round trip might have to be repeated at a later date. Craig and I played the 4 remaining holes that were open and I practiced for a while around the old 1st green of the Buddon Course, now used for general practice. Thankfully the Greenkeepers finished their work pretty quickly and the Nestie was fully open by 1330 hrs. This is a view of the 3rd Hole, looking back to the Championship Course 1st Tee and the iconic hotel that overlooks the Championship Course.

As the photo above suggests, the Nestie wasn't in great condition. The fairways had been heavily scarified and the greens were pretty bumpy and slow. Scoring was generally difficult, as balls would take unexpected bounces and putting was really tricky. This was my score on the completed full round -

Hole 1 - 65 Yards, Par 3 Score was 4, with 2 putts

Hole 2 - 66 Yards, Par 3 Score was 3, with 2 putts

Hole 3 - 64 Yards, Par 3 Score was 4, with 2 putts

Hole 4 - 44 Yards, Par 3 Score was 4 with 2 putts

Hole 5 - 55 Yards, Par 3 Score was 2 with 1 putt

Hole 6 - 40 Yards, Par 3 Score was 3 with 2 putts

So, 20 strokes in total with 11 putts on a course measuring 334 Yards in total. Not the most demanding or interesting course I've played on my travels around Scotland, but good practice nevertheless and I'm glad that the Links Trust had the wisdom to add this little course to the excellent facilities at Carnoustie. This is me on the 1st tee. I don't know exactly when my next new course will be as I've got a golfing holiday to Turkey coming up later in the month. At least I'm back playing again and looking forward to more trips around some of the more remote parts of Scotland on my continuing quest to play every course.

For any readers who have not played the Carnoustie Courses before, the Championship Course can be an absolute beast and the Buddon and Burnside courses are also challenging in their own right, particularly on windy days! Even if you're not playing, a trip to the Pro Shop beside the Championship Course 1st Tee is quite an experience - particularly if you're not expecting to pass what I assume is an exact replica of the Claret Jug!

Friday, 6 May 2016

In my last post, I mentioned that I'd be having major heart surgery. The operation (a triple heart bypass, no less) was on 18 January 2016 and was a complete success. The recovery was long and difficult and not something I'd want to ponder on too much. Suffice to say that after 15 long weeks I'm almost back to full fitness. The physios cleared me to start playing golf after week 12 and I should be OK to get back to caddying by the end of May.

So, it was back to the golf at long last, starting with a few holes at the Glen GC and Dunbar GC, the 2 courses where I'm a member. At the Glen, we're about to open a new 9-Hole course, using the first 4 holes of the existing course, a new tee half way along and adjacent to the existing Par 4 14th hole to create a new 165 Yard Par 3 and finishing with the last 4 holes of the existing course. We'll also have a separate score card so under our definition of what constitutes a golf course, our new Fouranback Golf Course has to be added to our list of Scottish golf courses. It's not officially open yet, as the new tee still has to bed in but it's just about possible to play the new layout by dropping a ball beside the new tee. I did just that a couple of weeks ago, for my first 9 holes after the operation. I went round in a very rusty 45 strokes, but on 3 May 2016 I managed an encouraging 37, only 2 over par. I'll do a full report once the course is open.

The big test of my recovery progress was to be a full 18 holes at Dunbar GC on 4 May. Polly had been playing nearly every day for the past week so decided she'd just walk the course with me. To set the scene fully, there was a group of 11 visitors immediately in front of me. The 1st Hole at Dunbar is a gentle 460 Yard Par 5. Hit a decent drive, lay up in front of the stream that cuts across the fairway 20 yards short of the green, hit any kind of pitch onto the big green and an opening par is there for the taking. Having done that, the first 4-ball of visitors let me play through on the 2nd tee. The 2nd is also a Par 5, and far more demanding. I rushed the tee shot, found a tricky lie in the rough and needed a good 3 wood to make the green in regulation. Another par on the card and the 4-ball of visitors ahead of me waived me through on the 3rd, after playing their tee shots and reaching the side of the green. The 3rd is a 152 Yard Par 3, played from an elevated tee to a long narrow green that's completely surrounded by deep bunkers. The flag was at the back left of the green, but the green is right outside the clubhouse windows and is also overlooked by golfers walking to the pro shop, on the practice putting green and the 1st tee. So, the 3rd is by far the most intimidating of the Par 3's at Dunbar and there's usually a crowd of casual observers - and the occasional ghoul in the bar watching for errant shots and bunker trouble. Not a hole to trifle with or play badly! This is a view from the tee, taken immediately after my round.

I'd forgotten my Skycaddie so Polly went back to the car - the car park is also adjacent to the 3rd, just to add to the pressure. With the wind behind, I reckoned the hole was playing short, so I opted for an easy 7 iron. The greens were running pretty fast so I thought that a ball landing on the down slope beyond the front bunker would run another 30 yards or so. I didn't really take long over the shot. I just hoped I'd hit the green and avoid making a fool of myself in front of the guys who'd waived me through and I was ready with the excuses - first game back after surgery, rusty swing etc. However, I hit the tee shot very well and the ball went almost exactly where I'd wanted it to and after running 70+ feet on the green, it went into the hole for my first hole in one. I've been playing golf for around 45 years so I suppose it's about time I got lucky. Polly missed the ball going but arrived well before I did, so hugs and handshakes all round and 2 bottles of whisky on the bar counter afterwards (and just where did all of these golfers suddenly come from?) Luckily, I had my phone in my pocket, so here's me and the ball (now retired!) that did it for me. I hope it takes me another 45 years to repeat the feat, but somehow I think I'd need to get lucky again long before then.

The rest of the round was pretty unremarkable and I needed that 1 on the 3rd in order to break 90 (i.e. 89). However, this round was all about personal recovery and the closure of a very difficult chapter in my life's story. I was pretty tired going up the last and I needed some strong painkillers to ease the various pains in my legs, arms and ribs. I'd been very fit immediately before the operation so it was a huge shock to find that after it I could barely walk a few steps without needing a rest. This round proved to me that my recovery was effectively complete. OK, I still need to get stronger and fitter before re-joining my caddying buddies, but I feel I'm no longer the recovering heart patient, I'm back to being the guy that loves playing golf and pursuing the ambition of playing every course in Scotland, just for my own satisfaction. Next stop Carnoustie, where there's a wee course I've not yet played. I'm also playing the excellent course at West Kilbride GC next week with some old golfing buddies, so I suspect that more celebratory whiskies will be purchased!

About Me

When not playing golf I work as a caddy in East Lothian. I'm also a member at Dunbar GC (dunbargolfclub.com) and the Glen GC (glengolfclub.co.uk).
I'm married to Polly, who shares my passion for golf and all that it stands for.
I'm playing all of the golf courses in Scotland for Cancer Research UK and would be very grateful for any donations via the following web address -
http://www.justgiving.com/golfingcoasttocoast2. We're delighted to have had messages of support from Catriona Matthew, the 2009 British Ladies Open Champion and Colin Brown, a former Captain of the R&A.